RICHMOND, Va. — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have failed to qualify for Virginia's March 6 Republican primary.

The Republican Party of Virginia announced late Friday and early Saturday that Gingrich and Perry fell short of the 10,000 signatures of registered voters required for a candidate's name to be on the ballot.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul met the threshold and will be on the ballot.

Failure to compete in Virginia, which is among the "Super Tuesday" primaries, would deal a huge blow to any contender who had not locked up the nomination by then.

"After verification, RPV has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the Republican Party of Virginia announced early Saturday via Twitter.

Gingrich's campaign attacked Virginia's primary system on Saturday, saying that "only a failed system" would disqualify Gingrich and other candidates and vowing to run a write-in campaign.

"Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates," Gingrich campaign director Michael Krull said in a statement. "We will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure that all the voters of Virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice."

However, according to state law, "No write-in shall be permitted on ballots in primary elections."

Gingrich said Wednesday he had enough ballot signatures, but he wanted to come to Virginia to deliver them personally. Taking no chances, his volunteers asked everyone to sign petitions before entering Gingrich's rally Wednesday night in Arlington, just across the Potomac River from Washington.

Gingrich represented Georgia in Congress for two decades, but has lived in McLean, Va., an upscale Washington suburb, while he's worked in the private sector.

Gingrich's early-December rise in several polls gave him renewed hopes of carrying his campaign deep into the primary season.

In a statement, Perry's campaign described the signature shortfall in Virginia as a "isolated situation."

Charlie Neibergall
/
AP

Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks to workers and local residents after touring a wind blade manufacturing facility in Newton, Iowa, on Thursday.

"We will closely review the facts and law to determine whether an appeal or challenge is warranted," the statement added. "Governor Perry has the utmost respect for the strong place Virginia holds in our nation's economic and military strength and in American history. He will continue to work hard to build strong support in Virginia and earn the trust of conservative-minded voters there."

Rep. Newton Gingrich, R-Ga., meets with reporters in Washington, D.C,. on March 1, 1979. Gingrich was first elected to public office in January 1979 representing Georgia's 6th District after two previous unsuccessful runs. He was subsequently re-elected 10 times.
(John Duricka / AP)
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Gingrich with his first wife, Jackie, and their daughters, Jackie Sue and Kathleen. Gingrich was married three times, his first in 1962, to his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley. At the time, he was 19 and she was 26. They split in 1980 following an affair Newt had with Marianne Ginther, whom he married six months after the divorce was final.
(Calvin Cruce / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
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Gingrich laughs at a joke told by President Ronald Reagan during one of his speeches on Jan. 26, 1984 in Atlanta. In 1983 Gingrich founded the Conservative Opportunity Society, a group of young conservative House members, which Reagan borrowed ideas from for his 1984 re-election campaign.
(Joe Holloway, Jr. / AP)
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Gingrich, left, is congratulated by House Minority Leader Bob Michael after he was elected minority whip on March 22, 1989. Rep. Jerry Lewis, the Republican Conference chairman, is at the right. Gingrich succeeded Dick Cheney following his appointment as Secretary of Defense in a close election in which he beat Edward Rell Madigan.
(John Duricka / AP)
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Gingrich, the House minority whip, addresses Republican Congressional candidates on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27, 1994, during a rally where they pledged a "Contract with America." The contract laid out 10 promises that the Republicans would bring to vote on the House floor including tax cuts, term limits and a balanced budget amendment. House Minority Leader Bob Michel of Illinois did not run for re-election that year, giving Gingrich his chance at becoming Speaker of the House which he did in November.
(John Duricka / AP)
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Gingrich uses a chart during a press conference on Capitol Hill, May 2, 1995, to demonstrate what will happen to Medicare if it isn't shored up. Republicans have accused the Clinton Administration of evading the program's growing financial problems. The conflict between Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress over Medicare, healthcare, education and the environment led to the longest federal government shutdown in history.
(Richard Ellis / AFP - Getty Images)
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President Bill Clinton and Speaker Gingrich laugh during their open question forum at the Earl Bourdon Senior Center in Claremont, N.H., on June 11, 1995. The forum appeared cordial and friendly in an atmosphere of non-partisan cooperation despite the tension between the men. Clinton campaigned on a promise of welfare reform, but Gingrich accused him of stalling as two proposed bills were vetoed. Gingrich then personally negotiated with the President and a bill was passed on Aug. 22, 1996.
(John Mottern / AFP - Getty Images)
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Speaker Gingrich, left, talking with Clinton, right, aboard Air Force One, Nov. 5, 1995, as the plane headed to Israel and to the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Gingrich said that the president slighted him during the flight which helped prompt the partial shutdown of the federal government. From second from left are, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, former Secretary of State George Shultz, Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle of South Dakota, White House press secretary Mike McCurry and White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta.
(White House via AP)
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Gingrich feeds a white Bengal tiger, named Kaboul, while hosting the Larry King Live television show, March 29, 1996, in Washington. Gingrich, who frequently hosts events featuring rare animals, was promoting April as "National Zoo and Aquarium Month." Gingrich is known for his interest in animals and wrote an introduction for the book 'America's Best Zoos.'
(J. Scott Applewhite / AP)
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Gingrich and his second wife, Marianne, leave their home for Capitol Hill, Jan. 7, 1997. During his term as House speaker, 84 ethics charges were filed against him, all but one were eventually dropped. On Jan. 21, 1997, the House voted to reprimand Gingrich, the first time in its history that the Speaker of the House had been disciplined for ethics violations.
(Mark Wilson / AP)
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Gingrich hugs Christine DeLay, right, wife of Rep. Tom DeLay, and her daughter Dani, near the caskets of Capitol police officer Jacob Chestnut and Special Agent John Gibson that lie in state in the Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on July 28, 1998. Gibson and Chestnut were killed July 24 by a gunman who charged past the Capitol security and opened fire in the building.
(Joyce Naltchayan / AFP - Getty Images)
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Gingrich and John Boehner, left, with then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey and Conference vice chairman Jennifer Dunn, at news conference with entrepreneurs promoting the GOP tax relief plan, on July 17, 1997. That summer, an attemped 'coup' to replace Gingrich as speaker of the U.S. House took place with Boehner and Bill Paxton leading a group including Armey and Tom DeLay.
(Scott J. Ferrell / Congressional Quarterly via Getty Images)
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Gingrich shakes hands with Clinton as First Lady Hillary Clinton and Rep. Barbara Kennelly watch before the president signed the Balanced Budget Agreement on the South Lawn of the White House August 5, 1997, in Washington. The budget agreement was reached after much negotiating and included cuts designed to balance the budget by 2002. As the economy improved Gingrich asked Clinton to submit a balanced budget for 1999, ahead of schedule, which he did.
(Paul J. Richards / AFP - Getty Images)
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President Clinton shakes hands with Speaker Gingrich beside Vice President Albert Gore prior to the president's State of the Union address to the 105th Congress on Capitol Hill, January 27, 1998, in Washington. Gingrich was one of the leaders of the Republicans seeking to impeach Clinton following the Moncia Lewinsky scandal. It was during this time, that Gingrich himself was having an affair with a House staffer, Callista Biske, 23 years his junior.
(Luke Frazza / AFP - Getty Images)
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Speaker Gingrich talks with a customer after signing his book, "Lessons Learned the Hard Way," at Borders Books in Charlotte, N.C., April 8, 1998. A prolific reviewer on Amazon.com, Gingrich himself has written or co-authored over 20 books, most of them historical non-fiction.
(Andy Burriss / The Herald via AP)
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Speaker Gingrich hugs neighbor Lucia Roy in front of his house in Marietta, Ga., before making an announcent to the press that he is stepping down, Nov. 7, 1998. Following the mid-term elections in which the Republicans lost five seats and Gingrich took much of the blame, he decided to leave.
(Ric Feld / AP)
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Gingrich and his third wife, Callista, during a visit to the U.S. Capitol for the unveiling of Gingrich's official portrait on Nov. 15, 2000, shortly after they were married. Gingrich admitted to the extra-marital affair during an interview aired March 9, 2007, with conservative Christian leader James Dobson. Gingrich divorced his second wife Marianne in 2000 when his attorneys acknowledged his relationship with Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide who is now his wife.
(Mario Tama / AFP - Getty Images)
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Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton listen to former Speaker Gingrich during a media conference on Capitol Hill on May 11, 2005, in Washington, D.C. Kennedy, Tim Murphy and Gingrich held the news conference to announce a bill that would transform the healthcare system by creating digital health information networks. In 2003 Gingrich founded the Center for Health Transformation to develop a new healthcare system. He supported the Medicare Prescription Drug Act and advocated with Hillary Clinton on healthcare information technology.
(Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images)
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Newt Gingrich, formerly a southern Baptist, converted to his wife's faith, Catholicism, in March of 2009. Here, he discusses a new film he co-produced on Pope John Paul II's historic role in defeating communism in eastern Europe, on June 9, 2010, in Warsaw, Poland. In 2007, Gingrich wrote 'Rediscovering God in America,' which attempted to show that the founding fathers intended to encourage religious expression.
(Czarek Sokolowski / AP)
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Gingrich speaks at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, Jan. 25, 2011, in Des Moines. Gingrich has advocated replacing the Environmental Protection Agency with the an 'environmental solutions agency,' while also supporting a flex-fuel mandate for cars sold in the U.S.
(Charlie Neibergall / AP)
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Gingrich speaks to reporters after a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, March 18, 2011. Gingrich initiallly supported a U.S. military intervention in Libya before he was against it.
(Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)
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Gingrich poses with Georgia Republican delegates Irene Karakolidis and Pearlie Sicay Finchers, right, while campaigning at Finchers BBQ, May 13, 2011, in Macon, Ga., after announcing two days earlier his intention to run for the GOP presidential nomination.
(John Amis / AP)
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Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich talk to media after their meeting in New York, Dec. 5, 2011. Trump, who flirted with running himself, met with many of the GOP candidates -- all hoped to get his support. Gingrich didn't get his endorsement, but did get a commitment to mentor a group of children from New York's poorest schools.
(Seth Wenig / AP)
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Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich talk during the ABC News GOP Presidential debate on the campus of Drake University on Dec. 10, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa. Gingrich surged ahead in the polls and became the target for criticism from his opponents.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Jon Huntsman and Newt Gingrich share a light moment during their Lincoln-Douglas style debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Dec. 12, 2011. Gingrich hoped to revive the format, from 1858, on live television. So far, only Huntsman has accepted his offer to debate one-on-one.
(Brian Snyder / Reuters)
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Newt Gingrich speaks to reporters during a campaign stop at the Southbridge Mall in Mason City, Iowa, Dec. 28, 2011. By late December, Gingrich had fallen in the polls, just in time for the Iowa caucus.
(Charles Dharapak / AP)
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wipes away a tear while speaking about his deceased mother during a forum put together by Moms Matter 2012, Dec. 30, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa. The normally confident, even brash candidate, showed his emotional side a few days before the first test with voters in Iowa.
(Andrew Burton / Getty Images)
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Newt Gingrich makes a point during the opening question of a debate at the North Charleston Coliseum Jan. 19, 2012 in Charleston, S.C., next to Mitt Romney. The debate, before South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, was opened with a question to Gingrich about statements made by his second wife, Marianne, which prompted a hostile response. In an interview with ABC News, she claimed Gingrich asked her to choose between an open marriage or a divorce after revealing his affair with the woman who is now his now third wife. To CNN's John King, the moderator of the debate, he replied, "To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine."
(John Moore / Getty Images)
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Gingrich smiles during a campaign event at the Grapevine Restaurant in Spartanburg, S.C., on Jan. 21, 2012. After fourth place finishes in Iowa in New Hampshire, Gingrich picked up an endorsement by Rick Perry,who dropped out of the race. Gingrich won South Carolina's primary by 12-points over Mitt Romney.
(Matt Rourke / AP)
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Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista attend his Florida primary night party Jan. 31, in Orlando. Mitt Romney defeated Gingrich by 14% to win Florida's primary, but Gingrich vowed that he was staying in the race, reminding voters at most states have yet to vote. Florida is a winner-take all state and with it's 50 delegates, Romney pulled ahead witih 87 delegates to Gingrich's 26.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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Gingrich leans in to speak with his grandson as he announces he is suspending his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination May 2, 2012 in Arlington, Va. "Today, I'm suspending the campaign but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship. Callista and I are committed to be active citizens. We owe it to America. We owe it to Maggie and Robert," Gingrich said, referring to his two grandchildren.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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